The present invention relates to a cooling assembly and a method for cooling a thermal body for an aircraft as well as the use of a cooling device in an aircraft and an aircraft having a cooling device.
Up to now, cooling systems have been known in aircrafts, whose coolers are housed in ram air channels to achieve a heat exchange between an internal heat source and the environment of the aircraft. These ram air channels are implemented in such a way that the openings are oriented toward the flow direction of the aircraft to provide sufficient cool air. These ram air channels are to be kept as small in construction as possible for reasons of efficiency, such that unnecessary air resistance does not arise.
In order that sufficient cool air may be provided from the environment, obtaining pressurized air from a bleed air system of a turbine of an aircraft is also known. Pressurized air is taken from an aircraft power plant, because of which the air mass flow in the power plant is reduced.
Using these ram air channels, aircraft components, such as fuel-cell systems, may be cooled. Therefore, these fuel-cell systems, which are preferably PEM fuel-cell systems (polymer membrane fuel-cell systems) for obtaining electrical power, are equipped with such air cooling. Furthermore, cooling these aircraft components and/or fuel-cell systems using liquid cooling systems is known, the cooling liquid being cooled using externally supplied ram air.
Generating water from the cathode exhaust air of the fuel-cell system is also known on the basis of the cooling of the fuel cells. The cathode exhaust air may be cooled in such a way that the water contained therein may be condensed out. The condensation may be achieved by a heat exchanger which is connected to a cooling system, whether it is a liquid cooling system or an air cooling system. These liquid cooling systems or an air cooling system may be cooled using externally supplied cooling media.